Senior Housing

Overview

Two of the nation’s most future-oriented industries — seniors housing and long-term care — benefit from the combined experience and efforts of our Healthcare and Real Estate & Construction industry groups.

Developers rely on Schwabe’s collaborative approach

Our experienced healthcare industry team advises clients during the initial submission of building plans to the licensing agency, and helps them take action upon issuance and receipt of the facility license. We have a deep understanding of regulatory processes and routinely help establish comprehensive operating policies and procedures that ensure compliance prior to and during the development of new seniors and long-term care communities.

Our real estate and construction industry team assists developers in structuring equity and debt financing for projects, managing the land use and entitlements process, and representing the developer in contracting with architects, engineers and general contractors.

Recent or ongoing development projects include:

Waterford Grand (Eugene, Oregon)

The Alexander (Bend, Oregon)

Touchmark at the Ranch (Prescott, Arizona)

Touchmark in the West Hills (Portland,Oregon)

Owners rely on Schwabe for buying and selling communities

Schwabe attorneys have represented owners in numerous purchases and sales of senior housing facilities. From large-portfolio acquisitions and divestitures to single-facility transactions, our team advises clients on virtually every issue involved in the buying and selling of these communities, including change-of-ownership (CHOW) regulations in various states.

Schwabe offers efficient representation for refinancing transactions

We regularly assist seniors housing clients with facility refinancings, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loans. As experienced local counsel, we also provide legal opinions on issues specific to financing and refinancing transactions in Oregon and Washington.

Once a seniors housing or long-term care facility has been developed, financed, built and launched, the real work begins: managing and operating a successful community. Our healthcare attorneys have experience with the wide variety of legal issues facing owners, operators and providers, including:

Advising on state and federal Medicaid change of ownership requirements relevant to facility owners and management entities

Responding to and representing long-term care facilities before state regulators on compliance or regulatory issues raised by the state

Counseling facilities on state wage and hour and other employment matters

Analyzing potential strategic arrangements and joint ventures for compliance with the requirements of HIPAA, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and other federal fraud and abuse laws

Assisting with responses to data breaches and compliance with the requirements of federal and state privacy laws, including ‎representing clients before the Office of Civil Rights in response to HIPAA investigations

Drafting resident agreements, handbooks, and other employment policies and agreements

Conducting administrative law proceedings before administrative law judges related to facilities and tenants

Assisting with tenant evictions

Drafting policies and procedures

Assisting with general litigation

Handling sex abuse complaints (including between tenants and in the employment context)

Advising on general regulatory compliance

Experience

Sold a portfolio of assisted living communities for $143 million to a REIT, enabling our client to reposition itself for new community developments and diversification in other real estate sectors.

Obtained $93 million in financing through a syndication of lenders to build a seniors housing community.

Structured a transaction to achieve tax-effective liquidation of the value of an option held, enabling our client to purchase an assisted living community.